1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of leashes. More particularly, this invention relates to a device for dispensing and retrieving leashes strung between a surfboard and the operator, such as the surfer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is axiomatic that, once a person gets on a surfboard there is a risk he or she will become separated from it at some time during the "ride". In fact, the risk of falling off a surfboard is a significant part of the sport. Surfers constantly strive to remain on the board during all manner of wave action; however, everyone knows and appreciates that in some instances, such as heavy wave action or unpredictable surf, the person will "wipe-out" as the vernacular describes it.
Surfboards are made of lightweight materials including plastic foam, usually with an interior wood stringer, and are covered with a hard finish including fiberglass and fiberglass resin. While light and sturdy, a surfboard nevertheless becomes dangerous should it be forced to double back upon its owner after a wipe out. Further, where more than one surfer is operating, one surfer's board may become exceedingly dangerous to a neighboring surfer during heavy wave action.
There has been a move toward retaining a link between the surfer and his or her surfboard. Leashes have been fashioned that have spaced-apart distal ends attached to the surfer and to the board, respectively, in order not to allow the board to become too dislocated from its owner. While leashes have served the intended purpose, they have created a host of problems that have proved to be as dangerous or more dangerous, as well as bothersome, to the art of surfboarding.
A leash will prevent a total loss of the board from its owner. However, because the specific gravity of the surfboard is quite a bit less than that of the surfer, the surfboard floats to the surface first, and can become a hazard, i.e., colliding with the surfer, resulting in cuts, scrapes and welts. In addition, the leash drags in the water and interrupts the smooth flow of water over the board. This is thought to adversely affect surfboard performance and to detract from the beauty of the sport.
Some persons have gone to stretchable leashes in order to use a shorter leash with less chance for the length to become a bothersome drag in the water when riding the board. These have proved to be extremely dangerous because the recoil built into the leash often causes the surfboard to act like a torpedo in the water and close directly on the person having the other end of the leash attached his/her body. Numerous instances of severe collision using stretchable leashes have been reported.
About the best that can be done by today's standards is the use of a retractable leash. It can be made non-stretchable thus eliminating the torpedo problem. The unused length of the leash may be wound up and temporarily stored in a housing worn by the surfer on his or her arm or ankle (Patent No. PCT/AU91/0031), or a windup spring used to wind the unused length of the leash into a housing located on the board (U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,725). In this latter patent, the windup spring stores increased potential energy as the leash is pulled out of the housing that is converted to kinetic energy as the spring retracts the unused length of the leash into the housing. The spring loses energy as it winds in the leash thus reducing the pull on the leash and reducing the torpedo problem as the surfboard gets closer to the surfer. A significant benefit with the retractable leash is that there is no excess length to drag in the water during use of the surfboard--the leash is wound up in the housing and the only part of it remaining outside the housing is the length directly from the housing to the user's ankle or arm.
The main drawback with retractable leashes of the prior art is that the leash jams in the opening in the housing during high speed unwinding and rewinding. This is mainly caused by the reflexes of the surfer in moving quickly from one location to another on the top of the surfboard. In these swift and usually unexpected movements, the leash changes angle at the inlet/outlet aperture in the housing and often causes a loop of leash inside the housing, directly under the aperture, to jam in the housing thus preventing further use of the retracting aspect of the device.